The Princess' Rogue
by Tear of Light
Summary: It was supposed to be easy. Save the princess, collect the bounty, and then live the rest of her life without a care in the world. But when is anything ever that easy? Yang & Weiss. AU.
1. The Rogue

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And here we have another story. This one is an AU, set in the medieval times of fantasy with knights and princesses. Magic, also known as Mana, also exists, but in the form of Dust. There will also be mentions of other races, but rather than have races such as dwarves and elves, in their place will be different types of Faunus. Also of note, this is not the most common pairing of the series._

_Due to the subject matter, expect the characters to be slightly different from the way they are in the show. Not everything will be canon. As such, while many main and none main characters will be making appearances throughout this story, this story is inherently more about Yang and Weiss, and hence, everyone else may not get all the screen time you want. _

_As I'm experimenting a bit with my writing style, expect things to be a bit different until I get it all sorted out._

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

**Summary:** It was supposed to be easy. Save the princess, collect the bounty, and then live the rest of her life without a care in the world. But when is anything ever that easy? Yang & Weiss. AU.

* * *

*** ~ Chapter 1: The Rogue ~ ***

The Unicorn's Horn was a quaint little place.

Located halfway between the poor and rich districts of the Capital City of Vale, the local tavern was the go to place for all looking for a decent drink. And some juicy gossip. From commoners to nobles, all sorts of folk visited this place. Currently, there was only a handful of patrons here right now, as it was only mid afternoon. But that would quickly change come evening. As soon as the sun set, people would literally stream into the tavern until there was standing room only. Even then, people still came, all to waste away their nights with some rowdy company and barely tolerable alcohol.

At the farthest end of the tavern farthest from the door, sat a hooded figure at the bar. Covered head to foot in a heavy, dark brown cloak, shadows covered the upper half of the person's face as they casually sipped a large steel mug of ale. Violet coloured eyes keenly watched two off duty royal guards, also sitting at the bar, the king's men sitting three bar stools down from them on the right. While the royal guards were speaking to each other in whispers, it wasn't hard to figure out what they were talking about. Princess Weiss Schnee had gone missing from the White Castle a day ago after all, and the king had caused nothing but a ruckus since then.

The hooded figure took a gulp of ale.

Ten thousand lien.

That was the reward the king promised to anyone who returned the princess to the White Castle in good health. For the return of his daughter, in one piece, King Schnee would give up ten thousand lien.

The peoples' reaction was instantaneous.

Everyone from farmers to no good thieves showed up to the capital city within hours of that announcement, proclaiming they'd be the one to bring the fair princess back. But so far, none had made any progress, and two days had gone by since the bounty was first declared. One lone Rogue was going to fix that however. And that's why they were here, at the tiny little tavern called the Unicorn's Horn. Ale had a way of loosening a man's tongue after all, especially the king's men.

* * *

Princess Weiss Schnee slumped back against the cold stone wall, sighing deeply. For the better part of an hour, she tried to escape from this prison, but it was all for naught. The ropes which bound her hands behind her back cut deeply into the skin of her wrists, making her wince every time she shifted, or rather, tried to move into a more comfortable position.

How long had it been since she was captured? Weiss didn't know. She'd only been out for a day without her usual escorts when she suddenly lost her way. Night fell quickly, the princess fighting against a blur of flitting shadows, rising terror, and sense of isolation she had never experienced before during that time. A short tussle with an unseen assailant was the last thing she remembered before waking up here, in this cold, dark, and damp stone room.

There was only one door to the place, one made of sturdy wood lined with metal joints. This poor excuse for a room was no bigger than two arm lengths, both ways, and was just as high as a small child was tall. That left Weiss with little options aside from either stooping down, kneeling, or sitting on her rear end. None of those were very appealing however, in the end, Weiss settling for sitting down with her knees bent and brought up to her chest. Her behind quickly went cold, in spite of the layers she wore. Her legs weren't any better off, as they were covered in nothing but her white boots from the calves down, boots that were now dirty with grime. Weiss could only guess what the rest of her looked like at this point.

The white haired girl sighed. As loathed as she was to admit it, Weiss was starting to regret leaving the White Castle on her own. Thinking about it further, the Schnee heiress wondered if she had been thinking at all when she decided it was a good idea to leave the only home she'd known. Logically, leaving was a foolish mistake, one that she was paying for now. But, not everything in life followed logic, Weiss knew. For if it did, many things would have turned out much differently.

Weiss snapped out of her thoughts when footsteps thumped up to the door of her cell, stopping short of it. Soon muffled voices sounded through the door, Weiss instinctively leaning forward, trying to make out words. Due to the thickness of the wooden barrier, the speakers' words were unintelligible. Weiss was able to make out the gruffness and abruptness of the voices however, clearly indicating her captors to be men.

There were two men speaking right now. One of them sounded weary, if not fearful, while the other was aggravated. They bantered with each other heatedly for another few seconds, before the conversation ended and the door to Weiss' cell clicked open. The next thing Weiss knew, her room was being bathed in light to the sound of a creaking door, the heiress momentarily blinded.

Squinting against the sudden light, Weiss' blue eyes just barely made out a dark figure framed in the doorway. The light from behind the person made his features indistinguishable, causing the Schnee heiress to grit her teeth. How lucky for the fool. If she had seen his face, the moment she escaped from all of this, she would have had him hunted down and executed in an instant!

"Time to go..." the man muttered, stepping forward purposefully. He drew something from his belt.

Weiss' stomach dropped as the man approached her, the princess well aware of how utterly helpless she was against the brute if he wished to try something. She struggled against her bonds as a heavy hand grasped her shoulder, something rough being pressed over her mouth and nose. Panic immediately took to the forefront of her mind as this happened, Weiss struggling even more, whimpering. Soon terror and panic faded, Weiss feeling all of the strength leaving her body as her eyes drooped shut and everything went black.

* * *

"Are ya serious!?" a royal guard exclaimed.

"SHHHH!" the other said quickly. Both of them looked around nervously, huddling closer together as they continued to talk.

The rogue raised their hand to the barkeep, the mug of ale in front of them empty. Hidden violet coloured eyes never left the two men close by.

"That's what I heard," the second of the king's men said in a hushed voice. "I heard the commanders talkin' about it earlier. The princess was taken by mercenaries from one of them neighbourin' countries. Said so in the ransom note they sent to the White Castle. Somethin' about tradin' the princess for the Vytal throne."

A pale eyebrow raised at this news, violet coloured eyes widening slightly.

A power struggle, was it? Interesting... But the Rogue had no interest in that. Not really. Their goal was the money from the bounty, and living out the rest of their life in the middle of nowhere, where no one could ever bother them again. Ten thousand lien could make that possible for any man.

Or woman.

The royal guards looked around again, their eyes falling upon the hooded person just a ways down from them at the bar. The Rogue pretended not to notice them and continued drinking their ale.

"Barrrzmanz!" a deep voice said, seeming very much drunk. "Damzz gooode aaaalle!" The Rogue laughed heartily.

The king's men turned back to each other and continued to talk.

"Which country?" the first guard asked his friend.

"Not sure," the second replied. "But some of the others think it's Atlas."

"Atlas? Why them?"

The second royal guard took another glance around again before speaking. "One of them lieutenants saw a strange group of men leavin' Vale through the southern gate earlier this morn. They had a lotta cargo wit' them."

"Strange?"

"Yeah," the first guard nodded. "They were too big to be farmers or traders, an' their size matched that of Atlas blood. But they did nothing suspicious, so they were left to pass freely."

The Rogue grinned. That was all they needed to hear.

Slapping a lien on the bar to pay for their ale, the cloaked figure stumbled out of the bar laughing loudly about damn good ale. While the drinks themselves only cost a half lien, the rogue was feeling mighty generous at the moment. Once outside and out of sight of the king's men, the hooded figure immediately straightened up and continued to walk on normally.

* * *

"Why are guards always so stupid?" Yang asked to no one in particular. For them to have bought that drunken act, they really had to be stupid. As if a pint and a half of ale could ever get her drunk. Pfft.

Taking a moment to stretch, Yang chuckled to herself. Pulling out a small bottle of clear liquid from one of her belt pouches, she took a swig of it before stashing the bottle away again. Yang couldn't let her normal voice be heard after all, not just yet. It would ruin everything if she wasn't careful. So every now and a then, she drank from the voice lowering concoction as given to her by the Shadow Kats of Forever Fall. That little potion lowered the pitch of her voice tenfold, audibly giving her the tone of a young lad who's voice just broke. Yang couldn't but chuckle when she thought of that.

An errant lock of golden hair momentarily slipped out from the cover of her hood as she put the potion away. It was promptly hidden again once the voice lowering potion was back in its place. After taking a quick glance around and pulling her cloak tighter around her body to hide her obviously feminine features, Yang turned left down the street and started whistling a casual tune. She brought up her hands to rest on the back of her cloaked head.

The southern gate of Vale was a half an hour walk from here on foot. It led out of the city through the Cliffs of Beacon, eventually leading travellers to the Emerald Forest. The forest itself was said to be both enchanted and haunted by many vicious creatures, though Yang wasn't sure if she believed those rumors or not. Nevertheless, it would take all of a week to pass through the forest on foot, two by horseback. However, if what the royal guards said was true, that the mercenaries had cargo with them, they would be even slower still.

Taking a moment to change her direction, Yang rubbed her gloved hands together as she spotted a lone horse tethered to post at the front of one of the shops ahead.

"Here horsey, horsey..." she murmured.

* * *

_**A/N: **__This story was actually inspired by a text based RP I did with a friend a long time ago. I had recently come across the conversations for it, quickly realizing how similar our characters were to the main characters. While we never finished the RP, I still enjoyed the story of it and decided to finish it now through a RWBY fanfiction._

_Just to clarify, in this story, Weiss was raised to be a true princess. She has no combat training aside from a few fencing lessons. She was brought up to be a prim and proper princess, an image of perfection, and a doll of sorts._

_Kats are a type of Faunus that have cat like features. They are agile, stealthy, and fast. They are kind of like alchemists of sorts in this story. If this was a true fantasy story, they would be the elves. A Shadow Kat is like a dark elf._

_All non-human races are Faunus in this story._


	2. The Princess

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And the next chapter is up! Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited this piece already! :)  
_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

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*** ~ Chapter 2: The Princess ~ ***

When Weiss woke again, it was night. Groggy from being forcefully put to sleep earlier, it took the heiress a few seconds to get her bearings back. Acting out of habit, the white haired girl raised her hand to her face to rub the sleep away. At least, she tried to. That didn't happen of course, instead, Weiss' left wrist burning with a stinging pain yet remaining immobile. With panic immediately gripping her, Weiss quickly looked down at her body. Blue eyes instantly locked onto the harsh bindings around her wrists and ankles, previous events coming back to her in a flood of memory.

The escape from the White Castle.

Fumbling in the dark.

The confrontation with a shadowed blur.

Weiss had been captured by mercenaries. She'd almost forgotten.

Almost.

Blinking a few more times, now that she was a bit more awake, Weiss found herself laying on her left side. She was on a patch of grass apparently, the green shards cool and damp against the bare flesh of her neck. From where she lay, she could see no more than a few feet in front of her. Not that there was much to see anyhow. There were only the faint outlines of tree roots on the edge of her vision. That and grass and dirt. Somewhere behind her, a fire crackled, causing flickering shadows across the ground.

Weiss' body was numb and heavy, the moisture from the slightly wet grass seeping through her thin clothes and chilling her to the bone. Just as Weiss attempted to sit up, into a more comfortable position, she froze at the sound of clothes shuffling behind her. Her eyes widened at the words which followed.

"For the last time..." a gruff, accented voice said. "I don't care how big the reward is! We have orders!"

There was dead silence before another voice spoke up.

"That reward, split four ways, is more than we can earn in a-"

"I said no!" the first speaker exclaimed.

A rough hand grabbed at the back of Weiss' jacket, causing her to yelp. She was yanked up hard, the motion leaving her dizzy and tipsy with vertigo. A moment later, Weiss was stifling back another yelp as she was spun around to face her captors.

Base camp was made in a small clearing amongst trees hundreds of feet tall and just as thick around the trunks. Three men stood in the shadow of the nearby trees, the surrounding area eerily back lit by a low, smouldering fire.

"Just think about it..." spoke one of the men in front of her.

This particular man was slim in stature, his head shaved with a light green mohawk on the top of it. He wore a shirt with the sleeves cut off, two bracers covering his arms, extending just below the elbow. A brown strap wrapped around his chest from his left shoulder to under his right arm, tying a spiked spaulder to his left shoulder. Dark grey pants covered his legs with thick, brown leather boots which went up to his knees, encompassing his feet.

"All that money-" the mohawked man continued.

The one holding Weiss growled low in his throat. Weiss flinched, feeling the man's stale and hot breath on the back of her neck. Her nose twisted in disgust.

"We have orders to bring her back alive," the man said.

A pause.

"But I'm sure dead will do just fine."

There was a ring of metal as a dagger was drawn. Weiss gasped as she felt the cold steel press up against the soft part of her neck. Weakly, she tugged at her bonds to no avail, frantic blue eyes darting between the three frozen men standing in front of her. All of them had their hands halfway to their weapons, but none of them dared to draw them, out of fear of what the fourth man holding Weiss would do.

"How about we slit her throat then, and spill all her blood right now?" the fourth man sneered. "Then where's your reward, huh?"

The three men glanced at each other nervously, but did nothing further. Weiss shivered horribly, in spite of her best efforts not to move. And for the first time in a long time, the heiress prayed to the gods that she would survive the night...

* * *

The dirt path to the Emerald Forest was a quiet one, much too quiet for Yang's liking. After acquiring her transportation, the rogue immediately pushed her stead, a young brown mare, into a quick sprint through the Cliffs of Beacon. It was not hard to pick up the trail left by the mercenaries. Given how sloppy they were at covering up their tracks (Were they even trying really?), Yang assumed these men to be more brutes than actual mercenaries.

Judging by the tracks she followed, there had to be at least two men on horseback, and another directing the wagon carrying who knows what. Hopefully, one terrified princess at the very least. The wheel ruts in the dirt were deep, indicating a heavy load after all. Yang could only smirk at that. She wouldn't be caught dead leaving such sloppy tracks today.

A long time ago, Yang very quickly learned why it was necessary to cover up her tracks. Such was not a lesson one wanted to repeat, especially if it left them on death's doorstep. Many scars covered the rogue's body, a very physical reminder of just how close she came to dying due to her naive, earlier days. She was a lot better today of course, not as sloppy, nowhere near as naive. And because of all the hard lessons, near fatal lessons she learned over the years, Yang was confident she would catch up to the mercenaries soon. But first, she had to cross through the threshold into the enchanted forest. And that's where she was currently, overwhelmed by a stifling silence.

Yang looked around nervously.

Usually there would be animals, if not bugs, about and making noises around this time of the day. Yang often slept outside at night, too cheap to pay for a room at the local inn, which is why she knew this fact. But here, right now... everything was so quiet, so silent, as if nature herself was holding her breath. It didn't help that there was a full moon high in the sky either.

Something had to be wrong. The rogue felt it in her gut.

Yang took a deep breath, laughing wearily to herself. She vainly tried to convince herself she was just imagining things. Enchanted forest? Bah! Those were just silly stories to scare children at night. But the horse was acting all nervous too, looking all over the place, at times jumping when there nothing was there. It was a bit unsettling to say the least. Animals could pick up on things that people couldn't see and for her horse to be skittish now, that worried Yang greatly. This behaviour started only after they crossed through the first trees leading into the Emerald Forest. That had to be a coincidence though, right?

Before she could ponder anything else, the horse reared suddenly, tossing Yang to the ground as it whined. The frightened animal immediately scurried back the way they came, running no more than a few feet away from the rogue before vines shot out of the ground, snaring it. Adrenaline rushed through Yang's veins, the rogue immediately jumping to her feet as she took in the sight. As Yang took a step backwards on instinct, a huge plant-like creature broke through the ground under the horse. It rose at least thirty feet high into the air before halting its ascent, a bone white mask with red markings covering most of its bulbous head. The monster screeched, making Yang flinch, the rogue stumbling backwards even further as her stead was raised over the abomination's open maw.

Seconds later, the horse was devoured alive.

The horse squealed in a way no animal should as it was swallowed whole, the animal's dying breath cut off with a wet crunch and what sounded like a slurping sound. Unsatisfied with that snack, the bone plated plant soon set its sight on Yang, making the rogue cringe. For a few seconds they stared at each other before the Grimm opened its mouth, revealing rows upon rows of blood stained teeth, and roared again.

Yang took off in mad, frenzied sprint deeper into the forest. She didn't stop running for a long time.

* * *

The silence dragged on for an eternity, or at least that's what it felt like to Weiss as her captors stared at each other fretfully. With the blade pressed so tightly against her neck, she didn't dare breathe. The first time Weiss did that, she felt it pierce skin, a tiny stream of warm blood trickling slowly down her neck.

"Enough of this!" snapped the man holding her. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

There was another moment of silence, the other three men clutching at their weapons.

"Well!?"

The three others jumped.

"We shouldn't be here..." one of the other men said, scrounging up what little courage he had to speak. He looked around nervously.

"This place feels wrong."

This lad was mostly dressed in brown leather armor, a black shirt and black pants underneath it. A black scarf also covered up his neck, a silver buckle with a dove on it holding fast around his waist.

"Don't you hear them...?" the man continued, his voice shaking.

"Hear what?" asked Weiss' knife wielding captor.

"The voices!" hissed the mohawked man.

As if to back up the mens statements, an eerie sound drifted through on the soft wind. It was twisted sort of roar, a faded echo at that, one made by no living creature any of them knew. It lasted only for a few seconds, but that was enough. The three men in front of Weiss looked back to their leader, their eyes wide with terror.

"S-Stop speaking nonsense!" the leader said.

Whether the man's voice shook with fear or something else, Weiss didn't know. Before she knew it, Weiss was roughly pushed to the ground, the princess yelping when the breath was knocked out of her from the impact. Thankfully, the knife had been removed now, and she could breathe freely, albeit, tensely.

"We are men of the mighty Atlas!" the leader exclaimed, a slight tremble in his voice. "Act like it!"

The remaining three men relaxed in their stances, letting go of their weapons. They still remained on guard however, as none of them could dispute the oppressive nature of the forest surrounding them. Even Weiss couldn't deny it, as she lay on her stomach. There was something about this forest that was making her... weary.

Looking at the swaying trees in the fire's light made the heiress uneasy. There was something wrong here, Weiss knew, but she had gone so far beyond fear these past few days that she found the forest bothered her far less than the four men now huddled in silence around the camp fire again. That being said, one question plagued her mind. What had made that awful sound earlier?

Princess Schnee shook her head to clear her mind, but it was useless. There was a sharp stinging in her neck now, where the dagger had cut her, on top of the already raw skin biting into her wrists from the rope binding them. Weiss bit her lip to stifle a whimper, the heiress feeling more helpless and alone than she ever had in her entire life. She quickly found herself wishing for the very place she'd escape from, and if not that, any other place aside from here. But that wasn't a luxury she had, was it?

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, Weiss rested her head as comfortably as she could on the ground, wondering if the men were going to drug her back to sleep again.

* * *

Yang propped herself against the nearest tree as she caught her breath. She had been running for all of fifteen minutes now, the rogue only stopping when the burn in her legs became too much. Yang would have screamed given the chance, a means to vent her anxiety and fear, but she didn't. Her shout would without a doubt draw the attention of another one of those... things... and that was the last thing Yang needed right now.

A cool breeze blew by, causing the rogue to shiver. Her skin was covered in a cold sweat, one that would be there for a good while yet considering how quiet the Emerald Forest was. The eerie silence gnawed relentlessly at Yang's usually calm demeanour.

Maybe she had made a mistake. Maybe she should just turn back now and forget this ever happened. Was her life really worth risking just for a few lien? Well... a few thousand lien. Ten thousand lien shiny ones. Yang looked at her hands, her hands still shaking in fright. Her whole body was still trembling in fact. Maybe it was time to-

A flicker of light up ahead.

Violet eyes immediately snapped to it, Yang's muscle tensing in preparation for a fight. Was that some sort of freakish spirit coming after her now!? Yang's heart skipped a beat at the thought, but she soon sighed when she realized it was not what she feared. The flicker of light came from a fire a ways off, deeper into the forest. It wasn't hard to spot as it was in the middle of the night now. There were a few forms huddled around the camp fire.

The mercenaries most likely.

A memory flitted across the rogue's mind, one of a limp form laying in a sole bed, the person's silver eyes forever closed.

Yang made a fist.

"Tch!" came a sound between gritted teeth. "That bloody princess better still be alive by the time I get to her!" Yang grumbled.

The rogue quickly marched forward, violet coloured eyes never leaving the flickering flames.

* * *

Weiss shivered, making the cuts in her wrists and neck ache terribly. The night continued to crawl by for her, the heiress wondering just how many hours had passed by since the last time she thought about her predicament. Had it truly been hours? Or maybe it had only been minutes. Or seconds even. Nonetheless, it felt like forever for the Schnee princess.

A sob threatened to escape past her willing lips, her crystal blue eyes watering. Weiss forced it down however, well, she kept it stuck in her throat, not wanting her captors to know how scared and lonely she was feeling right now. While the sob was suppressed, her tears were not, and with no hands by which to wipe them away, they ran down her cheeks, streaking the grime that covered her face. They were they only warmth Weiss had right now, the heiress laying close enough to the fire to see light, but far enough away not to feel the heat.

Gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes, Weiss did what she could to stop her body from shaking. The trembles didn't stop, no matter what she did, but she did manage to flip onto her back with some effort in the end. It was no more comfortable than her previous position, with her hands now trapped under her back. But, at least she now had something else to look at, instead of just ground, dirt, and the dimly lit grass.

Weiss quickly found herself enraptured by the stars, her blue eyes almost memorized as they twinkled at her from above. It gave her a sense of calm, if only slightly. Weiss made sure to burn this view into her memory. Dawn would be upon them soon, and that was not a comforting thought. Dawn would mean moving again. To where? The princess had no idea. It was almost certain to involve nothing but hours of laying on the bed of a rickety cart, under a moth eaten blanket which hid her away from plain sight.

For the second time on this night, Weiss found her thoughts going back to the White Castle. There were so many places she wished to be right now, her former prison included, as sad as that was. Had things been under her control, she would have been, but that was not the case. Weiss blinked again as tears obscured her view of the sky, her vision blurring in water. Just about to close her eyes, a rustle in the trees above made Weiss pause, the heiress squinting to see if she could identify the source. None of her captors seemed to have heard it, but Weiss knew for a fact that she had.

Sadly, she wasn't able to spot anything which could have made the noise, nor could Weiss imagine what woodland creature had triggered it. In the end, it mattered not. It wasn't like knowing what had made that sound would make any difference to her situation.

Or so Weiss thought.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ The plant monster Yang runs into initially is a plant Grimm. Somehow, I can't get the image out of my mind of Yang being stared at by the piranha plant from Super Mario Bros. Of course, it's not a piranha plant, but still. Lol._

_And yes, Weiss' captors are none other than Team CRDL. In this story, they hail from the Kingdom of Atlas._


	3. Burn

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And another chapter is here! Something about this chapter feels a bit off, but no matter what I did to fix it, it didn't work. Oh well._

_For those of you who left unsigned reviews, find my replies below:_

_ love thus story – Thanks for the review as always. :) I can't really reveal anything about that mysterious person as it will all be discovered later on. For now, enjoy this action packed chapter! XD_

_ TodayParade – Thanks for the comment and follow! :) I would have sent you a PM for this, but you have your PMs disabled. No worries though. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! ^^_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

*** ~ Chapter 3: Burn ~ ***

"Interesting..." Yang murmured quietly to herself.

The rogue was currently stooped atop a tree branch, just above the mercenaries base camp, mentally taking inventory.

Four mercenaries.

One horse and heavily loaded supplies cart.

Two saddled horses tied off to the side.

One princess.

A mischievous grin broke out across Yang's face, though with the orange scarf covering the bottom it, no one could see it. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Yang looked back over her shoulder for a moment, to a tree not too far away where she planted her Boom Stick. The Boom Stick was a gift from the Sanctum Taurus, a sort of thank you for doing business with them on a constant basis. Most of the time, Yang had no need for such things. But sometimes, like now, little things like that came in mighty handy.

Yang smirked as she counted down in her head.

_3.. 2... 1-_

_**BOOM! **_

An explosion rocked the area, one of the many trees twenty feet away from the mercenary camp exploding into splinters. Yang chuckled at the mayhem which ensued.

The mercenaries were quick to scramble to their feet, the horse attached to the cart rearing. The animal tried to bolt, but only ended up getting stuck after overturning the cart attached to it, spilling the mercenaries' belongings all over the ground. One of the loose, saddled horses managed to break free from its bindings and took off deeper into the forest. The other reared, nearly smashing one of the mercenaries in the head with its hooves as the man tried to calm it. Another man went running after the escaped horse.

Just when Yang thought everything was going according to plan, one of the remaining two mercenaries yanked the princess up against him by the hair, making her scream, bringing up a large mace in front of the girl. The last of them went to investigate the burning tree with his sword drawn. Apparently the mercenaries were not as stupid as Yang thought them to be.

"Stupid brute..." the rogue grumbled under her breath.

After glaring at the mercenaries for the better part of a thirty seconds, Yang pulled out a small, golf ball sized Burn Dust stone from a pouch on her belt. Unlike freshly mined Dust stones, which were brilliant in their colours, this particular Dust stone was lacklustre, the gem a dull red colour which almost seemed grey. There was barely any mana left in the stone, but it would be enough for what the rogue had in mind.

Taking a moment, Yang closed her eyes and channelled a small fraction of her Aura into the stone. The stone glowed in her hand, pulsing in three second intervals, making the rogue smile. Satisfied with her efforts, Yang tossed the Burn Dust crystal, now glowing faintly, high into the air. Rising to her feet, still on a tree branch above the mercenary camp, Yang flicked her wrists, deploying her golden gauntlets over her forearms. Now that the stage was set, the rogue looked down and whistled.

The short, redheaded mercenary holding the princess hostage looked up at the sound of Yang's whistle. Seeing his startled expression, Yang waved at the man wearing scratched steel armor, just as a glint of glowing red fell behind the pair. A split second later, there was a flash of red and the boom of a smaller explosion, the source being the nearly spent Burn Dust crystal exploding after hitting the ground. Both the mercenary and the princess went tumbling forward, amidst a thick cloud of white smoke from that mini explosion. While the man's mace went flying off to the side harmlessly during his tumble, the mercenary himself landed on top of the princess.

Yang flinched. "Ouch..." the rogue said. "That's gonna leave a mark."

Yang jumped off the tree branch, landing close to the fallen pair inside the cloud of smoke. Hearing coughs nearby, Yang leisurely strolled over to the princess and bumbling mercenary, the rogue not the least bit affected by the smoke as they were. The orange scarf Yang wore was enchanted, a small protective ward making her immune to the suffocating blindness of smoke, amongst other ailments. It was thrown in as an extra when Yang had contracted the Taurus to forge her precious Ember Celica years ago.

Ember Celica was the genius of the Sanctum Taurus' made manifest. Yang paid a great deal of hard earned lien (or rather hard stolen lien) to have them custom made. Golf ball sized Burn Dust stones were embedded in the golden metal, a bracelet of red around each wrist of her golden gauntlets, empowering them with fire mana. Never once did they let her down, and never would they. Taurus goods were forged to last. Despite all the years of abuse it suffered at the hands of its wearer, Ember Celica was scratchless.

Locating her quarry, Yang yanked the mercenary off of the princess by his shoulder plate and tossed him to the side. Turning back to the still half choking girl, Yang bent over and reached towards the princess. The rogue had only a moment to register a blur before the head of a mace smashed her in the side.

Yang yelped in surprise when the steel weapon bashed into her ribs, sending her skidding across the ground backwards on her heels. She slid to a halt ten feet away from where she previously stood, clutching at the bruised area under her right arm. Violet coloured eyes glared at the mercenary responsible. Had it not been for her Aura, she would have been snapped into two!

"Bastard!" Yang said through clenched teeth.

Whether the mercenary actually saw her, or had hit her through blind luck, the rogue didn't know. How had he retrieved his weapon so fast was also a question mark. That being said, Yang supposed it didn't matter in the end. He was going to be dealt with just the same.

Not giving him another opportunity, Yang dashed up to the coughing man, cocked back her fist and punched him square in the face. The mercenary fell backwards with a shout of surprise, his nose a geyser of liquid crimson. Curses left the man's mouth as he held his bloody face, the rogue quickly after kicking him where the sun didn't shine, making him writhe on the ground pitifully. With that nuisance momentarily dealt with, Yang breathlessly turned her attention back to the white haired girl.

"Time to go, Princess," the rogue said in a pained voice.

Yang yanked the princess to her feet by the arm, the rogue's ribs flaring painfully from that movement. Snarling as she bit her lip against the pain, Yang quickly snapped the ropes binding the heiress' wrists and ankles with a searing blast of fire from her golden gauntlets. The princess gave a startled shout when that happened, but Yang ignored it. The girl would not be burned, the seared ropes falling to the ground before that could happen. Once her target was free, Yang pulled her in the direction of the horse and overturned cart nearby.

"I hope you can walk on your own," Yang said to the princess, giving the still downed mercenary a kick to the face as they passed him. "I really don't fancy carrying you all way home."

* * *

Everything happened so fast.

First there was a large explosion a ways away from camp. Then Weiss was dragged up to her feet by her hair and pulled against the disgusting leader of the mercenaries. Then something exploded behind them, tossing Weiss to the ground on her stomach, with her captor landing on top of her. Somewhere in between being crushed by the mercenary's weight and choking on smoke from the previous explosion, the leader of the mercenaries was yanked off of her and smashed to the ground by a blur, Weiss' bindings burned away a moment later, causing her to yelp.

"I hope you can walk on your own," said a voice Weiss did not recognize. "I really don't fancy carrying you all way home."

Weiss stumbled slightly as she was pulled out of the smoke cloud, the heiress greedily sucking in air as she could finally breathe without choking. Quickly getting her wits about her, Weiss turned towards the one dragging her forward. The man, as determined by the low pitch of his voice, wore a heavy dark brown hooded cloak which covered up most of his defining features. Violet coloured eyes peered at her from under the shadow of the hood, an orange scarf covering the lower half of his face.

Weiss jerked back her arm out of the man's grip.

"Woah! Hey!"

Weiss had to get out of here.

Fast.

As thankful as she was to this new man, whoever he was, for freeing her from her binds and getting her away from her original captors (for the most part), Weiss could not allow herself to be captured again. Not again. Not by him and certainly not by the Atlas mercenaries. So she ran.

Or at least, she tried to.

Wrenching her arm away a little too forcefully, Weiss fell to the ground on her rear after losing her balance. For reasons unknown to her, Weiss immediately sought out the man's gaze, one she found quickly and stared at for all of a second. Then Weiss broke eye contact, scrambled to her feet, and half ran, half stumbled her way towards the trees at the edge of the clearing.

Staggering over all manner of loose twigs and roots in her rush, Weiss would only travel five feet before her foot got caught on a large above ground root mid stride. An audible crack sounded as she tumbled to the ground face first, pain immediately spiking outwards from her right ankle, going so far as up to her right knee. Weiss almost passed out from the pain, spots of white quickly peppering her vision as she sat up to inspect her badly twisted ankle. Somehow she managed to hang onto consciousness by a thread, the boom of another explosion followed by cursing only vaguely registering to her pain wracked mind. Weiss would only snap out of her shock when she was yanked to her feet and thrown over a horse.

* * *

Yang was scrambling.

"Princess or not, you're leaving with me now!"

What was supposed to be an easy bounty collection had now turned into a frantic escape.

After watching the princess not so gracefully twist her ankle on a large root, Yang quickly sprang into action. Her first stop was the horse still attached to the overturned cart of supplies. After calming the frightened animal and freeing it, the rogue then turned back to the dazed princess, grabbed her, and sent the horse into a fast sprint away from the madness. The mercenaries were still distracted by her ruckus earlier, but they wouldn't be forever.

"What...are you doing?!" sputtered the heiress, the girl grabbing onto the edge of Yang's cloak to steady herself.

"She speaks!" Yang exclaimed with mock sarcasm.

Princess Schnee was currently draped over the base of the horse's neck, on her stomach, Yang sitting on the horse's bare back next to the heiress. Blue eyes glared at the rogue, the white haired girl clenching her jaw.

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'm saving your life," she said. "What does it look like?"

If looks could kill, Yang would have been dead many times now.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" the heiress exclaimed, trying to steady herself atop the horse. "Do you even know who I am?!"

Yang had to fight down the urge to roll her eyes again. "The Ice Queen perhaps?"

Yang snickered at the pun. Now was probably not the best time to joke around, but Yang couldn't help it. The princess was way too uptight and needed to loosen up. At least, that's what Yang thought. Then the heiress pushed herself off of the horse and landed painfully amongst the roots and thorns they rode passed. Yang stared in disbelief.

"Wha-"

The horse the rogue sat on continued to gallop.

"Gods, this woman!" Yang exclaimed, after recovering from her shock. She quickly pulled up on the reigns hard, making the horse skid to a stop. After turning the animal around, Yang had the horse trot up next to the fallen princess.

"As hilarious as it is to watch you play in the mud," the rogue deadpanned. "This really isn't the time!"

Jumping off of the horse, Yang walked towards the princess only for the white haired girl to scramble backwards away from her.

"S-Stay away from me!" the heiress warned, the princess' glare promising any person who touched her unfathomable agony.

Yang paused in her step. Despite the glare the heiress was giving her, there was also something else in the girl's look.

Fear.

Yang didn't like that look.

"Look," the rogue said, softening her voice a bit. Yang held up her hands, hoping to show she meant no harm. "You may not realize this, but we don't exactly have a lot of time to talk right now."

"Then leave," Princess Schnee said, looking at Yang wearily. "No one is stopping you."

"No can do, Princess," Yang said, continuing to slowly approach the heiress.

"Why is that?"

The white haired girl gingerly pulled herself up to her feet with the help of a nearby tree. Yang quickly noticed her favoring her right ankle, but the rogue didn't say anything.

"I came to get you," Yang said in response to the princess' question. "And I'm not leaving without you."

Princess Schnee tensed. "I'm not going back," the girl said after recomposing herself. Her voice was like steel and her eyes like ice.

Yang narrowed. "Why not?"

"Because I'm just fine on my own," the heiress retorted.

That was a complete lie. And both Yang the Schnee successor knew it.

"Says the princess who needed saving."

"I never asked you to save me!" Princess Schnee exclaimed, shaking with anger. She glared at Yang, breathing heavily.

Before Yang could say anything, violet eyes darted to the side at the sound of a muffled thwap. A split second later, she was tackling the heiress to the ground. An arrow whizzed by them both, piercing the air they preciously occupied when they stood.

* * *

"There they are! Get them!"

Weiss stared dazedly up at the sky, the heiress taking a few seconds to get her bearings back after having been tackled. As she did so, something whizzed by her line of sight in the air above, Weiss quickly realizing it to be an arrow. The projectile just missed the horse nearby, causing her eyes to widen. Had she not been tackled out of the way, she would have been dead.

"Don't let them escape!"

At the sound of that shout, Weiss snapped out of her daze.

"Great!" the man exclaimed, staggering to get to his hands and knees. He immediately clutched at his right side, wincing.

Now free, Weiss instinctively scrambled backwards to the nearest tree and pressed her back against the trunk. She faced away from the oncoming mercenaries. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she risked a glance around the tree trunk just as her supposed savior got to his feet and took a few swaying steps towards the mercenaries starting to circle them. One of the men jumped for their horse, but the creature reared wildly, before bolting into the darkness of the forest.

Looking back at the man who saved her, Weiss caught sight of him making a fist. Violet eyes met her blue ones before the man mumbled something to himself and squared his shoulders at the mercenaries.

"You gentlemen are in for a treat!" the man said, just before reaching into his cloak. A second later, he pulled out a small vial of pale yellow liquid.

Weiss looked at the vial in curiosity.

"This my friends..." the hooded man continued. "... Is what will defeat you all."

The small vial was held up for the mercenaries to see.

"Defeat us?" One of the mercenaries said. It was the one with the mohawk. "How will a lil' bottle of piss do that?"

All the mercenaries laughed.

Weiss frowned, turning back to the hooded man. For whatever reason, he didn't look the least bit worried. In fact, he looked rather confident.

"Let me demonstrate for you," the man said. "Bottoms up!"

Momentarily pulling down his scarf, Weiss' savior tossed back his head and drank the vial in its entirety.

"Ewwwwwww, he drank it," said the mercenary in brown leather armor.

Once the vial ran dry, the man tossed the empty container to the side, the glass vial shattering when it hit the ground a few feet away. Weiss held her breath in anticipation. Little did she realize, that so called _vial of piss_ was actually a Shadow Kat potion. It temporarily raised one's fortitude, will and attributes for a few given moments. Or in other words, it super powered one's Aura.

The hooded man remained silent and still as the mercenaries taunted him more, leaving the heiress to wonder if he was just bluffing after all. Then, the man's hands clenched into fists, the man soon after smashing his two fists together in front of him, his entire body immediately rippling with orange and red flames. Violet eyes turned blood red.

The four mercenaries gawked. So did Weiss.

"It's the P-Phoenix!" one of the mercenaries murmured in shock. This particular mercenary had long blue hair with matching blue eyes. His garb consisted of a black shirt and pants covered up my dull grey armor.

"Oh?" Phoenix said, clearly amused by the mercenaries' expressions of shock and horror. "So you know who I am. That will make things easier then."

Without warning, Phoenix took off like a bolt of lightning, rushing at the closest mercenary nearest Weiss.

"What the-"

The mercenary's words were cut off by a swift and really hard kick between the legs, Phoenix falling back onto the ground, using his momentum to slid through the man's legs on his side. The moment he was clear of him, Phoenix was up and racing towards the second closest mercenary nearest Weiss, the mohawked man. The first of his victims hit the dirt seconds later, limp. The second mercenary didn't even have a chance to draw his bow before he was knocked backwards into a tree, splintering it, from Phoenix's shoulder bash to his chest.

The other two mercenaries, the one in brown leather and the leader, snapped out of their stupors at that point, drawing their weapons as Phoenix spun around to face them. Phoenix instantly positioned himself between them and Weiss.

"Surprised boys?" The flaming man chuckled. "You ain't see anything yet."

Both mercenaries charged at Phoenix, screaming. The man stood his ground motionless as they did so, not moving until they were within two arm lengths from him. Taking off like a bullet, a split second before he collided with them, Phoenix leapt high into the air, getting an extra aerial boost from two fireballs shot at the ground from his fists. The mercenaries swung at him with all their might, a mace and a sword narrowly missing his body by inches.

Flipping through the air and diving between the now off balanced mercenaries, Phoenix grabbed at the back of their collars as they stumbled past him, throwing his full weight forwards as he did so. The men were quickly yanked backwards off their feet, the rogue using his momentum and boosted strength to slam them down back first into the ground hard, their bodies cratering the ground underneath them. Phoenix touched down on the ground a second later.

"What did I tell you boys?" Phoenix said, giving the two downed mercenaries a slight kick in the sides. They didn't move.

"You should have listened."

Weiss sat back against the tree again, her mind whirling. Despite having watched it live, the white haired girl was having trouble believing what she just saw. In a matter of minutes, the man dubbed Phoenix by the Atlas mercenaries had taken them all out without breaking a sweat. Oh, and don't forget the part about being on fire and shooting fireballs from his hands.

Weiss' hands came up to her face and she shook her head. She was in so much trouble now. She just knew it.

Booted footsteps came up to the tree she hid behind.

"You can come out now, Prin-"

A loud roar cut off Phoenix, making Weiss jump. While not the same as the eerie sound she had heard hours ago, it was very similar. Goosebumps raised on Weiss' arms and the back of her neck. Scrounging up all the courage she had left, Weiss dared another glance around the tree.

She would regret doing that the moment she did.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Here's some fun facts. _

_Yang's Boom Stick is in fact a stick of dynamite. It is powered by black Dust, which for the purposes of this story, is crushed completely spent Burn Dust crystals, something similar to gun powder. While spent Burn Dust crystals no longer hold fire magic/mana in them, they are still highly flammable._

_The partially used Burn Dust crystal Yang used to knock Cardin and Weiss off their feet was basically a crude version of a flash bang grenade. By channelling some of her Aura into the nearly spent crystal, Yang destabilized it to the point that any rough jolt (or in this case, hitting the ground from up high) caused it to explode. But as it was almost entirely out of fire magic/mana, it was merely a flashy noise maker with a bit of a kick to it._

_Yang's Ember Celica is powered by Burn Dust crystals, which gives Yang the ability to throw fireballs with her punches. Again, for some silly reason, when describing this, all I could think of was Super Mario in Fireball throwing mode. Lol._

_The Taurus are a type of Faunus, ones with horns. The are naturally stronger than other Faunus and humans. They are kind of like blacksmiths/weapon makers/mechanics of sorts in this story. If this was a true fantasy story, they would be the dwarves._

_All non-human races are Faunus in this story._

_Only certain people have Auras. Some are born with it, others are not. Aura is like chi, or spiritual energy, and is required to be able to use magic/mana and Dust and Dust Crystals. If you don't have Aura, you can't use any of those. A person with Aura heals faster than people without Aura. Aura also provides some physical protection against blows and injuries, however, it does not stop all harm completely. It's more like a buffer, or an airbag or sorts, which takes off the more dangerous edge of injuries. Aura can be depleted from too much use and when that happens, needs time to refill._

_As we don't know what the rest of Team CRDL's weapons are, I gave them what I thought worked best for the story. Cardin keeps his mace. Sky has a sword along with Dove. And Russel has a bow. All of them also carry a small dagger on them._

_The nickname of "Ice Queen" is a nod to Weiss' common nickname in the fandom. _


	4. Scars

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And another chapter goes live!_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

*** ~ Chapter 4: Scars ~ ***

Weiss stumbled as she ran, the pain in her ankle worsening.

"Princess stop!" came a shout behind her, but Weiss paid it no heed.

"Wolves are pack animals!"

A total sense of panic gripped Weiss right now, and had ever since she locked gazes with eyes so red. A terror like nothing she had never known seeped into her very being at that sight, making Weiss want nothing more than to flee.

So she did.

Weiss didn't know what to expect when she dared a peek around her tree. All that she knew was that she wasn't expecting to see a Grimm.

Blue eyes went wide at the sight of a monster Weiss had only read about in books. It was huge, double the height of any regular person, with fur as black as onyx. On its head was a mask of white bone, lines of blood red carved into it. Spines of white bone also jutted out from the Beowolf's arms and back, blood stained teeth bared at Phoenix as the man faced off against it. It took everything Weiss had in her not to scream. Instead she took off running in the opposite direction.

How quickly she realized the terrible mistake she had made.

A blur of black darted towards her from the right between the trees. Seconds later, Weiss was bowled over, the Schnee heiress impacting the ground, hard. As Weiss lay stunned and dizzy, multiple howls filled the air. From the darkness and shadows surrounding the trees around the heiress, multiple pairs of glowing red eyes opened, leering at her. Weiss whimpered as she sat up shakily, blinking back tears as the glowing eyes advanced.

"S-Stay away!" she shouted, her voice wavering.

The Beowolves ignored the white haired girl's feeble attempt at bravado, the Grimm closing in painstakingly slow. Weiss cowered instantly, her blue eyes frantically searching for a way out. Scrambling backwards on her hands and her behind, Weiss' left hand came across a loose rock in the dirt.

Without thinking, Weiss hurled the rock at the closest Beowolf with all of her strength. The Grimm instinctively turned its head to the side to avoid getting hit in the eye with the projectile. It flinched for a moment when the rock clattered against its cheek. Shaking its head clear, the Beowolf turned its gaze back to Weiss, jaws wide and growling. Feeling another loose stone nearby, Weiss hurled it at the same Beowolf in a panic.

This time, the said Beowolf got bowled over by a heavy backpack, its contents scattering across the ground in between the beasts and Weiss, to the sound of the Grimm's yelp.

"Hey!" came a voice behind her.

Weiss, along with the dozen or so Bewolves turned their heads in the direction of the shout.

It was Phoenix.

The man still flamed from before, currently standing ten feet behind Weiss off to her right.

"The Princess said back off!"

Phoenix punched forward, his right gauntlet flashing red before shooting off a ball of fire. The attack hit a Beowolf square in the chest, making the beast yowl as it was sent flying into a nearby tree. Not wasting a moment, Phoenix punched forward again, and again, and again, sending a barrage of fireballs at the Grimm, hitting some, while missing others. Of the Beowolves still standing, all of them took off towards the rogue, deeming him more of a threat at the moment. Weiss quickly scrambled off to the side and hid behind another tree. She watched with wide eyes as the pack, in unison, leapt into the air and swarmed her savior.

"Look out!"

To Weiss' shock, Phoenix chuckled, remaining in place as the Beowolves came down up on his head. A split second before they collided, Phoenix leapt vertical into the air, narrowly missing the multitude of claws swiping at him. As he turned to face his opponents in the air and fell back down to earth, his golden gauntlets blazed with fire again. Seconds later, Phoenix's fist met the ground, rippling and cascading dirt outwards in waves. Beowolves went flying in all directions.

And Weiss could only stare in awe.

Phoenix rose from his crouch, the flames from his punch dissipating around him as he stood. Taking a quick glance around, the rogue immediately charged forward a few steps before leaping high into the air again, flipping forwards. His right leather boot came down on the nearest Beowolf like a sledgehammer, the heel of the man's boot cracking its bone mask sending the Grimm cratering into the dirt.

Phoenix immediately curved to the left after that, uppercutting a Beowolf into the air with a ball of flame. Following it up into the air, the rogue spun mid air, Phoenix's boots crunching against the faces of two charging Beowolves about to snap as his flank, the hits sending both beasts tumbling across the ground away from him. Phoenix touched down a moment later. By now, the remaining Beowolves, having finally righted themselves from the original blast which knocked them off their feet, charged at Phoenix, howling.

In spite being outnumber by at least tenfold, the rogue was undeterred. Quickly punching at the closest Beowolf, Phoenix sent it careening backwards into a nearby tree with a fireball. Kicking his right foot backwards a moment later, the man smashed another Beowolf hard in the stomach with his boot. Another Beowolf used that time to close in on the rogue, swiping at the man's face with its claws.

Phoenix had apparently anticipated this, either that or had seen it coming a ways away, for he dropped down into the crouch, leg extended, and quickly did a sweeping kick knocking the Grimm off of its feet. While it was still airborne, Phoenix uppercutted the Grimm with a flaming fist before smashing it back down to the ground with another fiery punch a split second later.

As a blur of movement narrowed in on the man from the front, Phoenix leapt to his feet. Taking one step forward, he jumped at the charging Beowolf, using its chest as a springboard to leap higher into the air. Twisting around to face another of its brethren trying to flank him, Phoenix smashed the flanking beast in the stomach with a kick, sending it crashing backwards into another Beowolf behind it. The second Beowolf stumbled backwards off balance, the first of them falling to the ground limp. Phoenix quickly charged at the second Grimm and finished off the Beowolf with a fiery right jab to the chest and a flaming left uppercut.

Growls sounded behind the blur of a man, Phoenix punching in the opposite direction of the howls. A ball of flame rocketed from his right gauntlet, sending him skidding backwards on his heels at super human speed and straight at the charging Beowolves behind him. Phoenix met the first Beowolf with an elbow to the chest, kicking it backwards with a spinning roundhouse kick to the face.

The second Beowolf swiped at Phoenix's head as its brethren was bashed away, Phoenix quickly raising his right fist, stopping the eviscerating limb with his golden gauntlet. A split second later, the Beowolf was met with two fiery blasts to the face, a backhand to the chest, a roundhouse kick to the face, and another flaming fist to the face before it was sent flipping into the air with a final round house kick.

Taking a momentary breather, Phoenix quickly turned about face to the sounds of snarling. A lone Beowolf charged at him, swiping at his head like countless of its brethren had, only for the attack to be blocked with a golden gauntlet. The Beowolf then met its end with a flurry of flaming punches to the chest and a fiery uppercut to the face. All the while this was happening, Phoenix still glowed with small flames of orange and his eyes were blood red. Unlike the Beowolves' gaze, Weiss noted, Phoenix's red eyes didn't scare the princess one bit.

A roar sounded in the distance, making the rogue look skywards. Movement from deeper in the forest caught Weiss attention, two blurs leaping into the clearing with them seconds later. The first blur was brown, and didn't stop, the brown blur deftly zipping between the Beowolves and Phoenix, continuing into the trees on the other side of the clearing, disappearing as fast as it appeared. The second blur, a black one, was hot on the first blur's heels, barrelling through trees, knocking them down and splintering them without reprieve.

It was another type of Grimm. One much more dangerous.

An Ursa.

The remaining Beowolves were bulldozed over like bowling pins, some being thrown into the air, others being flat out trampled by the newcomer. Phoenix just barely managed to roll out of the way of the other stampeding Grimm himself, the man's flames finally dying down at this point. With his flames now gone, Phoenix's eyes returned to their soft, violet colour.

The Ursa quickly lashed out at the closest Beowolves to it, immediately marking territory. Seeing this, Phoenix darted around the rage filled beast, the Beowolves once again switching targets to this bigger threat.

"Time to go Princess!" the rogue said, scrambling over to the still Schnee heiress.

Chest heaving in exhaustion, Phoenix hoisted Weiss over his shoulder and took off into a mad run deeper into the forest. Weiss yelped at the sudden movement, instinctively kicking and flailing her arms.

"Let go of me brute!" she exclaimed. The white haired girl squeaked as both of them suddenly went airborne, the rogue jumping over a fallen log.

"Nuh uh!" Phoenix said, huffing. He stumbled over a passing root shortly afterwards but managed to stay upright. He continued to run. "As much as I'm tempted to, I'm not going to leave you to-"

Weiss heard Phoenix suck in a hasty breath before she went airborne again, the sound of claws meeting metal and a crack following shortly afterwards. Weiss hit the ground with a yelp a few seconds later, the rogue suddenly gone from underneath her. Shaking her head out of her daze, she quickly looked up at the sound of a snarl. All of the blood drained out of her face the moment she did.

Phoenix was now slumped over in front of a cratered tree fifteen feet away from her, a Beowolf advancing on him menacingly. Judging by the smoke still emanating from the Grimm's fur, it had to be one of the Beowolves from the fight before.

"No..." Weiss said in horror.

The Grimm stalked towards the downed rogue, claws twitching, drool dropping to the ground from its open maw. Phoenix groggily shook his head, still much too out of it to do much of anything, far-a-less defend himself. He probably didn't even realize the danger he was in right now.

"No."

Weiss searched for a weapon, the heiress cursing her helplessness again. While it was true she didn't like the man, and really couldn't stand Phoenix, it was also true that he had saved her more than once now. And she was not about to let him die.

Not because of her.

The Beowolf towered over Phoenix now, raising its paw. The shadow of the beast made the dazed man raise his foggy gaze upwards just as the claws came down upon his head.

"NO!"

Weiss' hand shot out towards the Beowolf instinctively, a light blue Dust glyph immediately materializing under the Grimm's feet. The beast had only a split second to look down before ice shot up from the ground and swallowed it whole, the Beowolf's attacking hand freezing just inches away from Phoenix's face. The Grimm didn't even have a chance to howl before it was frozen solid.

As quick as the Dust glyph appeared, it vanished, Weiss slumping to the ground, her strength suddenly gone. With her vision blackening, panic and fear was replaced by exhaustion, aches and pains replaced by tiredness. The last thing she remembered before closing her eyes and succumbing to darkness was a shocked violet gaze.

* * *

Weiss awoke to the sounds of crackling flames sometime later.

Slowly pushing herself upright and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she found herself half covered in a worn, wool blanket that had seen better days. A camp fire crackled just a few feet away from her, fish on sticks cooking around it. And on the other side of the fire was a shadowed figure, their back resting against a tree.

"You're awake."

Weiss's cool gaze met a violet one. She blinked before turning away to look around. "Where...?"

"Somewhere far away from those Grimm," Phoenix replied. "Though, beyond that, it's hard to tell in this darkness."

Weiss looked up at the sky, the stars still shining brightly overhead. This had to be one of the longest nights of her life.

"Thank you."

Weiss' gaze locked onto the rogue again.

"For saving me back there."

Phoenix refused to look at Weiss right now. Whether it was out of embarrassment or shame, Weiss would never know. Silence would reign between them for a few seconds before Weiss chose to speak up.

"I couldn't just watch you die," Weiss said, breaking the silence. "You are one of my people after all."

Phoenix just snorted.

"Besides," Weiss said, ignoring the snort. "You did save me a few times before that."

The man fidgeted with the hem of his cloak. "You make it sound like I wanted to."

Blue eyes narrowed at Phoenix. "Why did you then, if not out of the goodness of your heart?"

Something was thrown in Weiss' direction, the heiress catching it without thinking. It was a paper scroll. Giving the rogue a brief glance, Weiss unrolled the scroll, her gaze quickly landing on the giant **REWARD** inked at the top of it in bold. Underneath the header was a brief description of what Weiss looked like, her official title as _Princess Schnee_, and a substantial reward of lien.

Weiss almost snorted. Leave it to her father to be so ridiculous.

King Schnee had to be the vainest person Weiss knew in the entire Kingdom of Vytal. He made sure that the people knew what he looked like, having countless portraits of himself painted and distributed amongst the court of the nobles. As if that wasn't enough (and it wasn't, not to the king), every so often, he would travel the streets of Vale via carriage, with an entire troop of soldiers guarding him, just so people never forgot his face. On top of that, craftsmen were ordained to make miniature replicas of King Schnee, in his likeness, something he forced the poorer districts of the capital city to buy just because he could. Yet, when it came to Weiss, his own daughter, his flesh and blood, the damn fool didn't even have the decency to include a portrait of her on the reward notice. Despicable.

"Seems like daddy is missing his little girl," Phoenix commented, a slight sneer in his voice.

Princess Schnee glared at the paper.

"He does not miss me, only what I can do for him," she said tersely. Icy blue eyes locked onto Phoenix's violet ones. "So if you plan on taking me back, it must be as your prisoner," Weiss said. She tossed the bounty scroll back to the rogue who caught it easily.

"Why is that?" Phoenix asked, genuinely curious. Clearly this was not the response he was expecting.

Weiss turned to stare at the fire, clenching her jaw. "I won't go back. I just... won't..."

Phoenix was silent for a moment, his eyes flickering between Weiss and the fire.

"Sounds like life in the castle isn't so lovely after all," the rogue said after a few seconds. "Too bad. I hear they have really good roast over there."

Weiss clenched her fist in response to her increasing ire. She closed her eyes to calm herself, but it didn't work. Instead, memories unbidden forced their way into her mind, times she wished to forget, making her only more angry.

"What would you know?" Weiss said, nearly growling. "You're just a free booting scoundrel with no cares nor responsibilities."

Weiss was harsh in her remarks she knew, but she was so angry right now. How dare he talk to her like that!

"What could you know of duty to one's family and to one's people?" Weiss turned away in disgust.

"Free booting?" Phoenix whispered, as if he couldn't believe she just called him that.

Weiss turned back to say something else, but the man wouldn't let her.

"Free booting!? How dare you!"

Weiss blinked in surprise at this reaction. Apparently she hit a nerve.

Phoenix shakily rose to his feet and glared at Weiss witheringly.

"It is _YOU_ Princess that has no damn clue!" the man exclaimed, making Weiss flinch.

"What would you know of duty to family?! You have been pampered your entire life!"

Phoenix was shaking, a finger pointed at Weiss.

"And here you are lecturing me about responsibilities!? What in the world would you know about that!?"

Weiss cringed backwards as the rogue marched around the camp fire and moved his face to stop just inches from her own. The next words to leave his mouth would hit the Weiss harder than any physical lash could, because having seen the agony and sorrow bleeding through his eyes, Weiss knew they were genuine.

"Did you have to worry about how you were going to feed your sickly little sister when your house was raided by bandits and your parents killed!? Hmm? Did you feel sick to your stomach every night as you tried to find shelter after those same said bandits burned down your house and village!? Did you have to go through the agony of having healer after healer turn your dying sister away because you didn't have enough lien to pay for her to get better!? Did you!?"

Weiss swallowed thickly as tears pooled in the corner of the man's eyes.

"No! You didn't!"

Phoenix snarled.

"Just like how you weren't forced to steal just to eat, you weren't forced to live on the streets just to survive, you weren't forced to w-watch your little s-sister smile at you as she wasted away in your arms because you didn't have the power or money to do anything about it!"

At this point, tears flowed freely from Phoenix's eyes, torment clearly heard in his voice as he fought so hard to keep his words from trembling.

"You have _no_ idea the life I have lived and the things I have done to just live, _Princess_. Do not speak as if you do!"

Weiss was misty eyed and speechless by the end of all of that.

After staring at her for another few seconds, Phoenix finally rose up to his full height, clutching at his right side. When he started walking backwards away from her, Weiss couldn't but feel a sense of panic rise inside of her.

"Fear not anymore, Princess," Phoenix said, his voice low and muted. "I've changed my mind."

The bounty scroll previously hidden inside of Phoenix's cloak was pulled out and tossed into the fire. Weiss watched as the parchment immediately went up in flames.

"I need not any stinking lien for a wretch like you."

Blue eyes rose up to look at the rogue, Weiss not feeling the least bit insulted by that comment even though she knew she should have.

"I don't want to taint myself with your kind."

With that said, Phoenix walked passed Weiss, and into the darkness beyond the campfire. He would not return for the remainder of the night, leaving Weiss to mull over both his words and hers, Weiss not sleeping a wink before morning came.


	5. Temporary Truce

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And another chapter is up! I forgot to mention it in the author's notes previously, but the fight Yang had with the Beowolves was heavily inspired by the fight in Junior's club in the Yellow Trailer._

_On another note, some of you have been asking about Ruby and the other characters from the show. I really can't say too much on the matter, as that (or rather they) will be revealed in later chapters. Nothing too big as Yang and Weiss is the focus of the story, but you'll see some of them. Which ones exactly? You'll just have to wait and see. :P_

_Onwards to the chapter!_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

*** ~ Chapter 5: Temporary Truce ~ ***

"Why are you following me?"

The sun was high overhead now, but most of the light was blocked by the canopy of leaves above their heads. True to its name, the Emerald Forest was one of the greenest forests Yang had ever travelled through, and one of the most beautiful. It was just a bit too quiet for her liking, however. That, and they were being followed.

Yang didn't know when they picked up their stalkers, every so often, the rogue catching sight of blurs zipping in and out of the trees around them. The princess didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. As their present company hadn't shown any hostile intentions, not yet at least, Yang chose to ignore them for the time being. After facing off against various types of Grimm yesterday, ones which were quite likely still around and dangerous, silent stalkers were the least of their problems.

"I'm not following you!" Princess Schnee huffed in annoyance, glaring at Yang.

"Yeah?" Yang retorted, not at all impressed. "Then what are you doing trailing behind me?" she nearly growled.

Yang was still sour over the night before. While the white haired girl took the brunt of her anger just hours ago, Yang wasn't really mad at the princess. If anything, she was more mad at herself. The rogue was mad that she hadn't done more in her younger years. She was but a child back then, and it was hardly her fault, but to Yang, that was no excuse. She had failed her sister. Plain and simple. The princess just had the unfortunate luck of bringing up that sore topic, which earned her Yang's wrath.

"I'm..." The Princess looked to the side, stalling. "Simply going in the same direction as you! That's all."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Riiiiiiiight," she deadpanned.

Yang eventually made it back to camp later that night, after spending the better part of an hour stumbling around the dark. Upon seeing the miserable princess wide awake when she returned, the rogue opted to sleep in the branches of a nearby tree. As the heiress didn't look ready to sleep anytime soon, Yang figured she would. Just because the princess wasn't sleeping didn't mean Yang couldn't. So she did. And come morning, Yang awoke refreshed and feeling much better than the previous day. Princess Schnee however, wasn't so lucky.

Walking up to base camp, Yang immediately noticed the white haired girl's poor state. The princess' eyes were bloodshot, dark bags underneath them. The girl's hair was a mess and she jumped at everything that made a sound, including Yang's boot after she intentionally stepped on a twig, snapping it, to announce her presence. The princess looked ready to scream at the sight of her, but upon realizing who it was, the heiress' look shifted to one of relief, no matter how hard she tried not to show it.

Yang couldn't but feel for the girl who was obviously out of her element, the rogue wondering if the princess had ever pulled an all-nighter in her life before. But even so, the argument from the night before was still fresh. So Yang silently packed up what little things she had (that being a few scraps of leftover food and the lone backpack of the mercenaries' supplies she had picked up during the scuffle with the mercenaries) and left. To the rogue's surprise, the princess scurried after her, noticeably limping, and didn't leave her sight.

That was four hours ago. And now they were here.

Thankfully Yang's ribs had healed by now. For the most part. While a horrible looking purple and green bruise marked the skin over her ribs on the right side, Yang's Aura had healed her up quite nicely.

The rogue stopped at a fork in the road, Yang momentarily pausing before taking the right most path.

"W-where are you going?" Princess Schnee questioned, quickly following behind Yang. Despite following the rogue everywhere she went, the princess kept a respectable distance between them.

"What does it matter?" Yang asked in irritation. As if being lost wasn't bad enough, Yang now had to deal with a meddlesome princess too?

"It's not like you're following me or anything."

The white haired girl huffed at that, the princess continuing to limp behind Yang. The pair would walk for another few minutes in silence before they came across a stream.

Yang stopped next to the stream to look down the length of it. The stream seemed to flow through the forest for quite a ways. It was hard to tell for sure though. Deciding a break was in order, Yang sat down next to the stream and leaned against a nearby tree to rest. As she settled, violet coloured eyes spied movement in the water. Squinting at it, the rogue could just barely make out shadowed forms in the water, forms that were long and lean. A grin stretched across Yang's lips.

Shrugging off the backpack and dropping it down on the grass behind her, Yang then proceeded to take off her boots. The bottom of Yang's pants legs were rolled up next, the rogue rolling up her sleeves as well. Ember Celica remained dormant on her wrists.

"What are you doing?" Princess Schnee asked, genuine curiosity in her voice. She too sat down next to the stream, but sat five feet away from Yang.

"Catching lunch," Yang replied, not looking in the direction of her present company. "What does it look like?"

Not waiting for an answer, Yang waded out into the shallow water, the top of the water reaching just below Yang's knee.

"You really are a Degenerate."

Yang stiffened at that comment, glaring at the Schnee heiress. "Excuse me?"

"Only Rapscallions would splash around in the water like children."

Yang's jaw clenched. "In case you haven't realized, _Princess_," she said, her voice tight. "It's not like I have a fishing line with me. I have to made do with what I have."

The white haired girl merely harrumphed at that comment.

Yang's hands clenched into fists, the rogue biting her tongue to hold back a curse. She glared at the princess for the next minute. When the snotty girl said nothing further, Yang returned her attention back to the stream and slowly lowered her hands into the water.

"You're doing it all wrong."

Yang's eyebrow twitched, the rogue doing all that she could to keep herself from throttling a certain white haired heiress.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're doing it all wrong," Princess Schnee repeated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She even added an eye roll when Yang looked up at her, infuriating the rogue even more.

Yang stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said in mock sarcasm. "I didn't realize there was a right and wrong way to fish with your hands."

"There is," the white haired girl stated, puffing out her chest.

"And you know this... how?" If looks could kill, Yang would have murdered the pompous princess so many times by now.

"From books," Princess Schnee stated. "I am a princess after all. Such things were one of the first lessons I learned."

_Breathe. Just breathe. _

Yang rubbed her face, in an attempt to calm herself. It truly amazed her how much patience she was exhibiting right now. Anyone else pulling this crap would have gotten a flaming fist to the head long ago. But, as much as Yang was tempted to punch the living daylights out of her present company, she didn't. Doing so would only prove how right Princess Schnee was about Yang being uncivilized.

_Calm down. She doesn't know any better. She's probably just miserable from not sleeping-_

"Surely a Simpleton like yourself can read?"

The gods hated her, that had to be it. Surely this was punishment for something or the other? Though Yang hadn't the foggiest idea of what she'd done wrong this time.

Closing her eyes, Yang forced herself to take deep breaths. Once she was certain she wouldn't do anything drastic to the white haired girl upon sight of her, Yang opened her eyes and faced her nemesis.

"Reading from books is one thing, Princess" Yang said in utter aggravation. The rogue looked at the heiress, hard. "Real life is another. Many things can't be learned from a book. Only experience gives you that."

A sudden thought came to Yang, making her smirk.

"But, seeing as you're so quick to point out my mistakes," the rogue continued. "Why don't you demonstrate the proper way to do things, as learned in your studies?"

Yang gestured towards the water with the wave of a hand.

"What?" Princess Schnee almost screeched. "You dare suggest I lower myself to a mud crawling Commoner like yourself?"

Yang's jaw clenched hard, the rogue almost certain she was going to crack some teeth if she kept it up.

"If you want to eat, you will," Yang stated.

With nothing more left to say, Yang left the water and sat down on the grass again, next to her boots and backpack. Had there been any food left over from this morning, now would have been the time to snack on them. But, as it was, those scraps were finished earlier on in the walk, and hence the need to catch lunch currently. The lone backpack Yang carried was devoid of any edible morsels, the sack only containing extra clothes amongst other nick knacks.

"I will not!" Princess Schnee exclaimed. "If there's anyone whose going to muck around like a bottom feeder, it will be-"

An audible gurgle sounded, making the heiress flush. Princess Schnee's hand instinctively went up to her stomach, the white haired girl glaring at it. Yang smirked at that sight, the rogue plucking a blade of grass from the ground, pulling down her scarf partially to chew on it. While such an action should have warranted some concern on Yang's part, with regards to revealing her true identity, it really didn't. The shadows of her hood were more than enough to keep her more feminine features a secret at this distance.

"You will go in there and get me a fish, right now!" Princess Schnee demanded. The heiress rose to her feet shakily, to give herself some extra height over the lazing rogue.

Yang looked up impassively at the princess, before turning back to face the stream again. She pulled up a few more blades of grass and tossed it at the water.

"Nope."

Princess Schnee took one step backwards, affronted. "No?" Blue eyes hardened into glaciers.

"You will!" The princess said again, pointing her finger at Yang now. "You will do what I say because-"

"Because you're a princess?" Yang snorted. "No, you're not. Out here, you're no one special. No guards. No riches. And most definitely not Daddy's Little Girl."

Princess Schnee glared hard at Yang, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"I owe you nothing," Yang said, looking at the white haired girl with eyes narrowed. "So if you want to eat, you'll prepare it on your own. Just like the rest of us Commoners as you so call us."

The Princess' eyes threw daggers at the rogue, but Yang didn't react. Rather, she just chuckled. It was oh so amusing to watch the princess squirm for once. When the other girl's stomach growled loudly for the second time in the span of minutes, her face flushing, the princess turned away.

"Fine!" Princess Schnee said, half stomping, half limping, towards the water's edge, boots and all.

Yang's eyebrows raised into her hairline, the rogue absolutely stunned. The princess was actually yielding?

"I'll show you!" the heiress exclaimed, snapping Yang out of her shock. "And when I catch all of them, you won't get any!

"Sure, sure," Yang said, chuckling. The rogue had to hand it to the princess, she had some spunk.

"That's if you catch any," Yang finished, grinning.

The princess glared at Yang, growling very much unladylike as she marched into the shallow waters. When the white haired girl turned her attention to the waters, Yang rested her elbow on her knee, and leaned her cheek against the palm of her hand. Violet coloured eyes twinkled with mirth.

This was going to be good.

* * *

_~ Half an hour later ~_

If there was one thing Yang could say about the princess, she was persistent.

Half an hour had passed since the heiress trudged into the water, with all intents and purposes of proving Yang wrong. And for half an hour, Yang watched as the white haired girl failed and failed and failed again, each time not only failing to catch any fish at all, but also getting herself more drenched in icy water when she vainly tried to chase after the fish that got passed her. Sighing, and very hungry at this point, Yang decided to help the pitiful princess out.

"You're doing it wrong," Yang said, smirking at the vicious glare the cold and exhausted princess gave her.

"Watch. This is how you do it."

Standing down stream from the heiress, Yang bent over and slowly dropped her hands into the water. Cool blue water went up to her elbows almost, the sunlight above glinting off of Ember Celica nicely in the water. Spreading her fingers wide, and bringing her fingertips nearly together, Yang wiggled her fingers slightly and waited. It didn't take long to attract attention.

"You see, Princess," Yang said, holding her arms absolutely still. "You first have to draw them in."

A fish swam up to Yang's hands, stopping itself in between her thumb and fingers as it inspected the golden object in the water.

"And then when they least expect it, you snatch them up!"

At that exclamation, Yang's hands blurred. A split second later, there was a loud splash of water, Yang straightening up with a slimy, writhing fish in her hands.

"And that's how you catch a fish with your bare hands!" Yang said, the rogue soon after tossing the flopping fish up onto the grass next to her boots. Turning back to her present company, Yang was greeted with a scowl.

"I know that!" the white haired girl said indignantly, the princess' gaze quickly dropping to the water again. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, probably due to embarrassment Yang figured.

Rolling her eyes at the heiress' words, Yang bent down again to catch another fish. Like before, Yang easily caught her prey, having done this many times over her career as a rogue. Very rarely did she stay in the major cities when roaming about, Yang preferring what nature had to offer. Most of the time.

"Blast it!" the heiress exclaimed, after losing yet another fish due to her own under developed fishing skills and impatience.

Yang looked up at the shout, at the same time tossing her fourth fish up onto the shore. She watched as the white haired heiress threw a little fit, kicking at the water and getting herself more wet. Raising her eyebrows in disbelief, Yang sighed before walking over to the girl.

"Here," she said taking the princess' ice chilled hands and pulling them into the water with hers.

"Unhand me you-"

"Shh!" Yang said, holding the other girl's hands firmly. "You'll scare them away if you shout like that."

Without paying the princess any further heed, Yang continued to hold the other girl's hands in her own as they waited. Surprisingly, the princess remained quiet and unmoving, though Yang was pretty sure that was due more to exhaustion and hunger rather than actual compliance at this point.

Movement below drew both of their gazes downwards, the heiress immediately holding her breath as a fish swam between hers and Yang's hands. The fish slowed itself to stop in the water, between their wiggling fingers, to investigate the phenomenon.

"Wait for it..." Yang murmured in a low voice. "Wait for it..."

The princess clenched her jaw, biting her lip as her body trembled in anticipation.

"Now!" Yang shouted.

Princess Schnee instantly clapped her hands around the body of the fish, the thing as long as her forearm and just as thick. The heiress squealed as the fish squirmed within her grasp, the white haired girl fighting to maintain her hold. Calloused hands covered the princess' own in the water before the fish escaped, both pairs of hands raising upwards a moment later, drawing the fish out of the water.

"I... did it..." Princess Schnee said in disbelief, staring at her catch. The fish continued to frantically flop around between their hands.

"That you did, Princess," Yang said with a chuckle. "That you did."

Yang's hands fell away from the princess', letting the heiress feel the true weight of her catch. The white haired girl stumbled when she almost lost her grip on the fish a second time, Princess Schnee managing to keep her hold in the end, soon after tossing the fish onto the shore like Yang had previously.

"But the first time is always a fluke," Yang said with a shrug, giving the princess a nonchalant look. "Can you do it again, this time, without my help?"

The heiress' look of surprise and accomplishment changed in an instant. The glare that followed could have frozen the entire kingdom of Vytal solid in an instant. Yang couldn't but smirk at that.

"Of course I can!" the princess said with an indignant huff. Arms were crossed over the princess' chest. "I'm a Schnee after all."

Yang's grin widened. "Yeah?" she said in mock sarcasm. How truly fun it was to tease this girl.

Princess Schnee's glare was downright frosty.

Unperturbed, Yang waved at the water.

"Prove it."

* * *

Princess Schnee was certainly not princess material.

Not according to Yang, that is.

Seriously speaking, which princess in their right mind would rough it out in the forest with only the clothes on her back?

Yang sat quietly back on shore, watching as her present company struggled to make a fire. It was very clear that the heiress had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but the princess pushed on, as defiant as ever, to prove Yang wrong yet again. It was rather cute, if the rogue could say so herself.

"You know," Yang began. As amusing as it was to watch the struggling princess, they had yet to eat and the fish still needed time to cook over the fire.

"I can just use one of these," Yang said, holding up a nearly spent burn Dust crystal. "I always have a few handy."

Princess Schnee sat back on her heels and huffed loudly.

"That looks dangerous," the princess said, eyeing the Dust crystal sceptically. Looking back to the pile of sticks and stones in front of her, the heiress sighed. Clearly, things were not working out as well as she had hoped.

Yang almost snorted. "Anything that goes boom is dangerous," the rogue said. "But it's faster than what you're doing. Though..."

Yang gave the princess a look.

"If you're so hell bent on doing that, who am I to stop you?"

Without waiting for an answer, Yang shrugged, stashing the dull red gem back in her pouch again.

Fishing took all of half an hour to complete, a total of ten fish caught between the two of them (seven were from Yang). While still not on the best of terms with each other, both Yang and Princess Schnee agreed a little cooperation was needed, if they were going to eat anytime soon. They were starving, the princess more so than Yang, as she hadn't eaten a bite the day before. So after quickly putting their differences aside and agreeing on a fragile truce, they got to work.

Yang was in charge of filleting the fish, while Princess Schnee worked on the fire. That was the princess' orders of course, the Schnee heiress having read all about how to make fires from books. Rather than argue with the white haired girl on that logic, Yang simply went along with it. For her, filleting fish wouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Yang wasn't blind. She saw the princess' queasy look as she gutted the fish atop a rock. The heiress went noticeably pale as fish guts spilled out onto the grass when that happened. If Yang had to guess, the princess was probably squeamish about most things. Though, it was rather shocking she showed no adverse reaction to blood, especially when the mercenary's broken nose erupted like a geyser a day ago.

After cleaning all ten fish, filleting them and putting them on sticks to cook, Yang tossed all the inedible and less desirable fish remains back into the river. By then, the fishy smell was incredibly strong and the princess looked ready to dry heave. Thankfully, the girl still had the fire to focus on, which distracted her from emptying the contents of her stomach in a bush.

But that was almost an hour ago.

And the princess still hadn't caused any sparks.

Yang sighed.

"Honestly," the princess huffed. "Blowing up a pile of sticks is rather extreme."

While not well versed in nature survival, even Princess Schnee recognized Dust stones and knew of their volatile qualities.

Yang stared at the heiress less than pleased. "What's more extreme? Starving to death or blowing up sticks to eat?"

Princess Schnee rolled her eyes before crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine," she grumbled, sitting back against a fallen tree trunk on the other side of the non existent fire. She looked at Yang expectantly.

"Alright then..." Yang said looking back to the sticks in between them.

Truth be told, it would be overkill to use a nearly spent Burn Dust crystal right now. Those were meant for a larger scale of damage, not as big as Yang's favorite Boom Sticks, but nevertheless, they really weren't meant as fire starters. But drastic times called for drastic measures. So, to save face in front of the princess after she so arrogantly boasted about using her crystals, Yang did just that.

"Here goes..."

Yang pulled out the Burn Dust crystal from her pouch again and channelled some of her Aura into it. Once she was satisfied it would give her the desired result, the rogue tossed the dull gem as far as she could away from the them. Both of them watched as the crystal tumbled over and over again in the air, heading straight for a nearby tree.

_**BOOM! **_

An explosion rocked the forest for the second time in the span of twenty four hours, smoke and grit enveloping the air within a fifteen foot radius of the detonation. Yang waved a hand in front of her face to dispel the cloud of dust which followed, the heiress coughing just opposite her making the rogue wince slightly.

Hmmm. It seemed that Burn Dust crystal had more in it than Yang thought.

Oh well.

"There you go, Princess!" Yang said cheekily, once the air cleared. Even at this distance, she could feel the heat of the flames licking at the nearby trees.

"Take your pick of which fire will light ours."

Princess Schnee glared at the destruction just ten feet off to their left. "Was that really... necessary...?" she questioned, scowling. "You do realize you've just told everyone for miles around where we are?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Yang said with a shrug. "I set one of these off before, along with their big brother, if you remember. No one has come looking for us yet."

Not waiting for a reply, Yang got up from her seated position and retrieved a burning branch to start their fire. Once the fire was blazing away, she immediate set the skewers of fish by the fire to cook. It wasn't going to be long now. Yang's mouth was almost watering.

"You really are brutish," the Schnee heiress commented, looking at Yang in distaste.

"You do what you need to for survival," Yang said, rolling her eyes. "Form, pose, none of that matters when you're fighting for your life, Princess."

"Weiss."

"Huh?" Yang blinked in confusion.

"My name is Weiss," the princess repeated. "I'm no longer a princess and you would do well not to refer to me as such."

Yang's eyebrows went up as she reached over to turn the fish skewers around so they didn't burn on one side. Weiss silently watched her as she did that. After the skewers were attended to, violet coloured eyes met blue ones.

"You really don't want to go back to the White Castle, do you?"

Weiss shook her head.

"Tell me something, Princess," Yang said, flipping the skewers around again.

"Weiss," the white haired girl repeated, glaring at the rogue to carry across her point.

"Uh right," Yang said before continuing. "Weiss..."

A pause.

"What's so bad about that place anyhow? So many people would kill to have what you have. Food. Servants. Money."

"But it's not my life, is it?" Weiss' gaze dropped down to the fire. "You think I'm free to choose where I want to go, when I want to, and to whom I shall marry?" Weiss looked off to the side lost in thought.

"Oh?" Yang said, this time it being Weiss who flipped the skewers around so that they didn't burn.

Princess Weiss Schnee was definitely not princess material.

Smiling slightly at that thought, Yang couldn't help herself.

"You're a bit feisty, aren't you?" Yang said, waggling her eyebrows. Not that Weiss could really see it given how shrouded in shadow her face was to begin with. But Weiss could certainly hear it through the tone of her voice.

"Oh shut up you!" Weiss huffed, flushing at the insinuation.

Yang just chuckled again, before pulling out the closest fish skewer from the ground and taking bite.

Mmmh. Perfect!

Reaching for another skewer as she polished the first one off, the rogue handed the second skewer to her campfire companion. The white haired girl gratefully accepted it, taking a hesitant bite after inspecting it keenly. Soon an expression of sheer surprise and joy blossomed across Weiss' face, the white haired girl ravenously tearing into the fillet throwing manners to the wind. Yang smiled. Weiss' reaction was like that of a child discovering something new and exciting for the first time. It reminded her so much of-

Yang swallowed thickly, her appetite suddenly waning. Anytime she thought about... her... this always happened. Yang continued to eat however, well aware she needed to keep her strength up for the trials ahead. In the end, she would eat the equivalent of three fish, Weiss quickly finishing off the remainder without hesitation. The princess would also be the one to nod off first, in spite of her best efforts not to. It seemed all exhaustion had finally caught up to her, and Weiss didn't have the energy to fight against it.

For an hour after Weiss fell asleep, Yang watched her. Nostalgia weighted heavily on her shoulders as the heiress slept, the rogue's thoughts going back to the person she had lost long ago. Upon noticing the slight shiver of her companion, without thinking, Yang got up and draped the worn blanket Weiss picked up from before over the white haired girl and tucked her in. Not too long after retaking her spot on the other side of the fire, Yang succumbed to sleep herself.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't claim to know the exact technique for fishing with one's hands. That being said, let's just say this is how it works just for this story. ;)_


	6. Affinity for Ice

**The Princess' Rogue**

_**A/N**__: And another chapter is up! Just a warning, there's some minor language in this chapter._

_On another note, I'm changing up the posting schedule for this story. Due to increasing real life responsibilities, I must unfortunately cut back the posting schedule of this story from twice a month to once a month. I simply can't keep up everything at the rate that I'm going, but rather than stop writing completely, I've opted to just slow things down a bit until things settle down. I appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter. This story shall update every fourth weekend of the month from here on out._

_For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:_

_ Guest – Thanks for the review! :) They should marry huh? Lol. You made me smile with the married couple comment. Hehe. They are adorable together, aren't they? XD_

_**Disclaimer**__: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them._

* * *

*** ~ Chapter 6: Affinity for Ice ~ ***

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"What does it matter?" Phoenix snapped, glaring over his shoulder. "I thought you weren't following me."

"I'm not!" Weiss huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She continued walking behind the rogue.

"Then stop asking!"

"I can ask whatever I want, Degenerate!"

"Ugh!" Phoenix threw up his hands in exasperation.

It was a weird sort of relationship.

Between Weiss and Phoenix, that is.

While Weiss made it very clear she absolutely loathed Phoenix, the rogue doing the same, neither of them parted from each other's company. After facing off against Atlas mercenaries and the legendary Grimm just days ago, one would have to be suicidal to go off alone now, especially here in the Emerald Forest. Who knows what other horrors they'd face in the coming days.

"You're going the wrong way."

Hands balled into fists as Phoenix went as rigid as a board, the rogue forcefully continuing his march forward. "You are seriously not starting that up again!"

Yet as much as they needed each other, if only for another pair of eyes, that didn't stop them from being at each other's throats most of the time.

"What?" Weiss said, affronted. "It's not like I'm wrong."

"Gods!" Phoenix exclaimed. "Do you never shut up!?"

The moment dawn broke and breakfast was had, Phoenix packed up his sparse belongings and took off again. Weiss quickly trailed behind the man she'd only known for days, her material possessions really next to nothing. It didn't take long for her to catch up to him, nor did much time pass before the arguing started up again. It was almost like a competition, a race to see who would snap first, the silence between them never a welcome respite. Today, it would be Weiss starting things off, and the arguing hadn't stopped since.

"How dare you!" Weiss yelled, her own hands clenched into fists. Stomping up to Phoenix, the man having suddenly stopped in front of her, Weiss reached forward and grabbed him by the shoulder. "I'll have you know-"

Weiss nearly had a heart attack when a calloused, yet somewhat soft hand clamped over her mouth. Phoenix pivoted to face her in an instant, his free hand raising to hold the back of her head before she was shoved backwards behind the nearest tree. As frightened as she was in those seconds, somewhere in the back of Weiss' mind the former princess noted just how small Phoenix's hands were. They were smaller than the hands of every single man she'd come across and had ever known. Small enough to be a woman's hands even. But, with the rogue quickly pressing Weiss' back against the tree, Phoenix invading her personal space leaving a scant inch or two between them, such a thought was quickly cast aside from Weiss' mind, though not entirely forgotten.

"Quiet!" Phoenix hissed, daring a peek around the tree they were hiding behind. "Grimm."

Weiss immediately froze at the rogue's words, the white haired girl stopping just short of kneeing the man where the sun didn't shine. Only now that they had stopped arguing, that they had stopped walking, could she make out soft grunts and squeals up ahead. Reaching up, she wrapped her hand around Phoenix's wrist, the one covering her mouth and gave it a slight tug.

Getting the message, the rogue slowly dropped his hand from her mouth, allowing Weiss a glimpse of his long, slender fingers. His now freed hand moved to hold onto the tree trunk to the right of her head, effectively boxing her in with his arms. Phoenix's other hand had moved to the opposite side of her head when he dared a peek before that, that one also gripping onto tree bark.

"How many?" Weiss quietly enquired, too afraid to look around the tree herself. The last time she did that, things didn't exactly turn out well.

Violet eyes squinted, Phoenix nodding slightly this way and that as he took a mental tally. "Six or seven of them," the rogue said softly seconds later. "Looks like a small herd. A few big ones. The rest, small."

"Beowolves?" Weiss' mind was already whirling with contingency plans. Everything from escape routes to what she should do should a fight break out again. That seemed to be her life as of late.

Phoenix shook his head. "Not Beowolves," the rogue said. "Pig things."

_Pig things?_ Scrounging up every single fibre of courage she had, Weiss dared a glance around the tree. Brushing up against the rogue's arm, the one on her right side, Weiss sucked in a shaky breath as blue eyes peered passed tree bark.

Just as Phoenix had said, there were Grimm ahead, maybe thirty to forty feet up stream. They were pig looking in nature, wild ones at that. Except instead of brown skin, it was black, complete with bone plates on their back and sides. The Grimm also bore full bone plated face masks, curved tusks extending outwards from their mouths. Having frightfully stared enough, Weiss pulled her head back quickly, her heart thrumming in her throat.

As relieving as it was to know the Grimm hadn't noticed their presence yet, Weiss couldn't but be amazed at how docile the Grimm were when out in the wild. They were not hostile in the least. In fact, they looked rather tame as they dipped their bony heads into the river to drink from it.

Ever since finding the river days ago, the pair had stuck close to it. Not only did it provide a constant source of fresh water and food (that being fish), it also served as the only recognizable landmark they had in the Emerald Forest. By all logic, if they continued to follow the river, it would eventually lead them out of the forest and back to humanity.

At least, that's what Weiss hoped. For all she knew, they were walking around in circles, the river quite possibly being a large ring rather than a straight through like she was expecting. Never in her books had Weiss read anything about rivers going in circles, but then again, this was the Emerald Forest. Somehow though, Weiss knew the river was straight. She didn't know how, but she just... did. Call it a feeling...

"They're leaving," Phoenix said, breaking Weiss out of her thoughts.

Weiss said nothing as Phoenix peered around their hiding tree, out of fear of alerting the Grimm to their presence if she did. Three minutes would pass before Phoenix finally moved, pushing away from the tree and Weiss, allowing the white haired girl some much needed space. Weiss' first reaction was to shiver, the Schnee successor never really realizing just how warm (and as abhorred as she was to admit it, protected) she felt with the rogue being so close to her. Only when he stepped away from her did Weiss truly feel it.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Weiss whispered. She anxiously scanned the area up stream.

"I don't plan on sticking around to find out," Phoenix replied in a hushed, tense tone. Taking one step forward to walk past their hiding tree, the rogue halted when Weiss' hand grabbed at his right wrist and yanked him back an inch.

"What are you doing?!" Weiss hissed, trying to keep her voice low. Nervous blue eyes darted back and forth all around them in anxiety.

Phoenix turned back to look at her, clearly annoyed. "What part of '_I don't plan on sticking around_' don't you understand?"

"But they could still be nearby!" came another hushed exclamation from the sole heir of Schnee.

"Even more reason to leave now. Before they decide to come ba-"

Violet eyes widened, the rogue looking down at their connected limbs a split second later. Weiss' hold on Phoenix's wrist was knuckle white at this point, the former princess trembling violently despite her best efforts to stifle such motions. Raising his gaze again, Phoenix sighed before bringing up his free hand to rub his forehead.

"Staying a few more minutes couldn't hurt, I suppose," Phoenix begrudged, much to Weiss' elation. "Just to make sure they're gone," the rogue added as an after thought.

Relief flooded through Weiss' veins at those words, the white haired girl quickly slumping to her knees, releasing her death grip on Phoenix's arm. Fear and anxiety turned into fatigue and exhaustion, the fear of having to face the Grimm again taking more out of Weiss than she would have liked. At the sound of scratching, Weiss looked up and blinked in surprise. Blue eyes landed on the rogue in mid climb, Phoenix scaling their hiding tree as deft as a monkey, and nearly soundless for that matter, save for the minor scrapings of the man's boot against bark.

Despite the logical part of her brain telling her to demand of the rogue what exactly he was doing and why, Weiss found herself staring at Phoenix open mouthed instead. The man had a rather graceful gait to him, Weiss' gaze focusing particularly on the sway of his hips and the flexibility of his limbs as he reached upwards for tree branches above his head. Weiss had never seen such agility in a man before, but then again, she had never been in the company of a rogue before either.

"W-W-What are you doing!?" Weiss squeaked, her face going red when she realized she was staring. She quickly turned her face downwards, just as the rogue settled himself on a thick branch a quarter way up the tree. Hopefully, he didn't catch her watching him.

"I can see farther from up here," Phoenix said, his tone lacking any hint that he caught Weiss staring at him earlier.

Weiss sighed inwardly in relief.

"That herd of Grimm is heading west," Phoenix continued, oblivious to the tensing of Weiss' shoulders. "I say we should give 'em another few minutes before moving again. Don't want to chance them hearing us."

"R-Right," Weiss exhaled shakily. Her shoulders slumped forwards again.

Despite the incident with the Beowolves happening days ago, Weiss still found herself freezing up at the mere mention of them. It was rather silly, really. That horrific experience was long over now, yet Weiss still couldn't shake the absolute terror she felt when she first looked into the Beowolf's empty eyes.

"Say, what do you think about ice?"

Weiss blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

The white haired girl looked up at her companion, thankful to the rogue for unknowingly breaking her current line of thoughts. With the leaves providing ample shade from the sun, it was rather hard to make out Phoenix from his current perch up in the tree. At best, she could make out his shadowed form, her eyes locking onto the lighter material of his neck scarf in the shade.

"Ice," the rogue repeated. "You know, water when it freezes?"

"I know what ice is, Rapscallion!" Weiss huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not stupid!"

Arguing. Yes. Weiss welcomed the arguing with open arms. It was something comfortable for her, familiar. When she argued with Phoenix, she didn't have to think about the Grimm or Atlas mercenaries. She didn't have to think about how they were lost in the enchanted Emerald Forest. She didn't have to think about how scared she was to be out here on her own. There was only her, and Phoenix. Nothing else.

Phoenix shifted on his branch overhead, undoubtedly rolling his eyes at Weiss' comment. He'd done it so many times now in the past few days that it would have been odd for him not to now.

"So what do you think about it?" the rogue questioned again.

Weiss stared at her present company, unblinking. "It's cold," Weiss stated blankly. She shifted to sit with her back resting against Phoenix's lookout post, her legs bent at the knees to her left. "What of it?"

"I think it suits you," Phoenix commented, earning him a dark glare. The rogue laughed. "Now, now," the man said, shifting some more. "Before you get your knickers in a knot-"

"How dare you!"

"- just hear me out."

Silence reigned between them, Weiss continuing to glare up at the rogue above her. She couldn't keep it up for long however, the former princess feeling the nervousness creeping up on her again without Phoenix's voice to distract her from it.

"Oh fine!" Weiss huffed again, puffing out her cheeks as she turned her gaze towards the river nearby. She was acting like a petulant child, she knew, one which undoubtedly affected her prim and proper reputation in a negative way. It hardly mattered though. As childish as it was, it was a small price to pay all things considered.

Phoenix chuckled, earning him another glare. "You know," the rogue said. "You really are _aww_dorable when you pout."

"_Excuse me?!_"

Ohhhh! If looks could kill, Phoenix would have been dead so many times by now. As if it wasn't bad enough that she was lost in some enchanted forest with mercenaries out to kidnap her, Grimm out to kill her, and starvation threatening to do her in, now Weiss' only company was hitting on her! The nerve! And don't even get her started on those horrible puns either.

"Easy now, Princess," Phoenix quickly said. "I-

"My name is Weiss!" the white haired girl exclaimed. "Get that through your thick skull, _Degenerate!_"

"Alright, alright," Phoenix said, actually sounding apologetic. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get you all wound up." A sigh. "One would swear you'd never received a compliment in your life before," the rogue muttered under his breath.

Weiss nearly growled, having heard that comment anyhow. "Is there a point to all of this?"

Ice blue eyes were throwing daggers at the rogue.

"Oh right!" Phoenix said, as if suddenly remembering what they were talking about in the first place.

Weiss rolled her eyes, her fingers digging into the muscle of her arms. Fingernails scratched at the material of her jacket sleeves as she sought to reign in her temper. Among other things. Anger was quickly forgotten however, and replaced with sadness when Phoenix spoke again.

"I think your Affinity is for ice," the rogue said.

Weiss eyes widened a fraction before she turned her gaze away again. "You are mistaken," the white haired girl said. "Only those with Auras have Affinities. And I have neither."

Auras. Affinities. Weiss was well versed in those concepts. As a child, she had been naturally drawn to those topics, no doubt finding the idea of Mana and the Elements exciting. Aura was said to be the manifestation of one's soul. Similar to Dust, people could use their Aura to manipulate the world around them through their Affinities.

Affinities were the elements people with Auras used, whether it be fire or water, or earth or wind. Those four were the main and strongest elements people could tap into, but there were other, lesser known elements such as metal which people could develop an Affinity for. Not all people were born with Auras however, and as such, not everyone had Affinities.

Just like Weiss.

"You sure?" Phoenix asked, pulling Weiss out of her thoughts again. "How do you know that?"

"My father," Weiss simply replied. She stared wistfully at the cool waters drifting past her mere feet away. Something about the motion of water always soothed her when she watched it.

"He was born without an Aura," the former princess continued, still not meeting her companion's gaze. "As such, neither was I, and hence why you're wrong."

Phoenix was clearly not pleased by that response, the man making a noise of disagreement before speaking. "That's a load of bull shit if I ever heard it."

"Language!" Weiss chastised, a frown marking her features.

"Yeah?" Phoenix replied, challenge in his voice. "Get used to it sweetheart. You aren't a princess anymore, so what does it matter?"

Weiss opened her mouth to retort, only to close it seconds later. Phoenix did have a point. Defeated, her gaze drifted to the side again, towards the swaying grass moving in the gentle breeze.

"Look," the rogue said, gaining Weiss attention once more. She didn't look at Phoenix, but she was listening.

"Just because your father or whoever didn't have an Aura doesn't mean you don't have one too. I don't know who told you that, but things just don't work that way. You have an Aura, Weiss."

Weiss looked back at Phoenix in aggravation. "So you've apparently convinced yourself. For what reason why, I haven't a clue."

"How do you think your ankle healed up so quickly, hmm?" Phoenix retorted. "Heck! How did you think you'd saved me from the Beowolf days ago, huh? Was that all in my imagination?"

Weiss opened her mouth to speak. "I..."

The former princess was at a loss for words. While her faster than normal healing rate was nothing out of the ordinary (she already knew that from childhood), the incident from days ago was still a big jumble to her, one filled with so much fear and terror.

Weiss remembered the red eyes of the Beowolf. She remembered running on a twisted ankle, pain tearing up her foot and leg as she ran. She remembered being knocked over and then being surrounded. She remembered being helpless as they swarmed her. Then she remembered Phoenix swooping into the scene like the mythical bird he was named after. She remembered him burning the Grimm asunder. Then the Ursa came and they were running again. And then... And then... And then she was on the ground, Phoenix was about to be ripped in half, and all she wanted at that point was for everything to stop, to halt, to_ freeze_-

"Hey."

Weiss jumped when a hand squeezed her shoulder, the white haired girl looking up from her shaking hands to find Phoenix right beside her. When he had jumped down from his watch post, Weiss didn't know. All she knew was that she needed him close by. Right now. Violet coloured eyes looked at her with concern, Weiss' breath hitching in her throat as she was pulled in for a hug.

"Sorry," the rogue said quietly, rubbing Weiss' back. It was soothing.

"I didn't mean to stir up bad memories."

Weiss trembled in the rogue's arms, everything in her logical mind screaming at her to get as far away from him as she possible could. That and the fact that Phoenix's chest felt a bit too padded to be normal, but that thought was pushed aside for later when there weren't more pressing matters at hand. In spite her ingrained instincts, ones currently telling her to flee, something about Phoenix made it impossible for Weiss to do just that. Instead, the former princess curled into the rogue more, burying her face in his shoulder, all the while clutching at this cloak with white knuckled fists.

Ever since she left the safety of the White Castle, the realization that she was truly cut off slowly dawned on her. Only when she met the hollow gaze of the Beowolf days ago did it truly hit her. How vulnerable she was. How helpless she was. How alone she was. She was terrified. And every further moment she spent in this forest, lost, just added to the increasing despair she felt to be on her own for the first time in her entire life.

"That's right," Phoenix cooed, holding Weiss close. "Let it all out."

But she wasn't all alone, was she?

Weiss openly sobbed.

Phoenix was here with her too. And he just wasn't here, and that was it.

Despite all their arguing, despite being inches away from wanting to ring each other's necks, Phoenix was slowly teaching her how not to be so helpless and vulnerable anymore. He was teaching her how to be self sufficient. He was teaching her how to live. From fishing to making fires (when he wasn't blowing up things with his damned Dust crystals or Boom Sticks), to how to cover up one's tracks and things to watch out for when hiking. He was treating her like a person. She was not some doll or figurehead to him. She was Weiss. Not _Princess Schnee_. And while she wouldn't dare call him a friend, given all that had happened so far, he was the closest damn thing she had to one.

"We'll rest up here a bit more before continuing onwards," Phoenix said, his voice was soft. "Don't want to get caught by those Grimm come nightfall."

Weiss just nodded, not trusting her voice right now.

"Okay," the rogue said, stroking Weiss' hair gently.

So wrapped up in each other, neither Phoenix nor Weiss noticed when a shadowed blur darted between the trees fifteen feet to their left. Light as a feather and just as silent, the blur would continue on for a long time, eventually meeting up with a certain herd of Grimm.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Well, that was a thing. Lol. In case it wasn't clear, the Grimm Weiss and 'Phoenix' came across were Boarbatusks. Just to clarify, Grimm in this story are treated like regular (albeit corrupted) animals. Hence the need to drink water, etc._

_For the purposes of this story, you can see Affinities as being a person's Semblance. _


End file.
